As is the case in Flynn’s other books (Gone Girl and Sharp Objects), the premise of Dark Places is, well … dark. And the narrator, Libby, isn’t exactly sympathic. As a reader, I actually felt kind of guilty that I didn’t sympathize with Libby more.

First of all, who can beat the premise of the story? A kid growing up in a graveyard? That’s just plain awesome. And the way that Gaiman tells it, Bod seems to be having just as good – if not better – of an upbringing as any other child.

What I really enjoyed the most about this book was that it touched on so many issues that are important for youth today: being alone, friendship, attraction, growing up. It wasn’t just about the sexual identity of one of the main characters and how the others dealt with it.

Long Walk to Freedom is definitely a good primer for someone who wants to know more about Mandela’s life before, during, and a little bit after his prison time. It’s a good overview in particular of how South Africa’s police, judicial, and political system treated him, and of the actual timeline of his life. And it’s a particularly interesting read when he talks about how his life was inside prison and how, from his perspective, his release came about.